Founded by Anniina Koivu – a design consultant and curator who has worked with Kvadrat, Vitra and Iittala, among others – Finnish-Italian label Koivu has become an in-the-know favourite for design-world denizens seeking the perfect sweater (case in point: her designs are often spotted in the Wallpaper* offices).
Crafted from 100 per cent merino yarn in a compact lock stitch specially developed by the Koivu team, the satisfyingly weighty jumpers – 800g of dense knit, to be precise – are cut with a loose, straight fit for both men and women. ‘[They] can be comfortably worn by anyone,’ says Koivu.
Koivu: the in-the-know label loved by the design world
The sweaters feature two designs: here, a work called ‘Flo’ twists around the body
Koivu’s classic jumpers are already available in a range of monochrome shades, and a new collaboration with Pierre Charpin sees them adorned with the French artist and designer’s unique works, here rendered in embroidery. Charpin, who is known for his work with graphic forms and broad use of colour, has created two drawings for the project.
The first is titled ‘Flo’, and features colourful, twisting lines across a navy blue jumper; the second is called ‘Scala’ – crafted from white thread on a black Koivu sweater – and recalls a staircase. The limited-edition styles launch this month (September 2023).
A closer look at the ‘Scala’ design, which recalls a staircase in white thread on a black sweater
A second, ongoing collaboration accompanies the A/W 2023 release, seeing Giulio Ridolfo – a textile and colour expert from Italy – create a series of sweaters in bi-tonal knits. From afar, they look like a single colour; look closer, and they are knitted from a subtle melange of two similar shades.
‘When artificial colours are monochromatic, they react differently to light. Sometimes they lack depth,‘ he explains. ‘To achieve deeper tones in textiles, we work with juxtapositions.’
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